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WRI is committed to producing high-quality research, including reports, issue briefs, working papers, and technical notes. Our publications are subject to peer review, and are held to traditional "academic" standards of excellence, such as objectivity and rigor. We also ensure that all of our publications are timely, fit for audience, and rooted in a strategic plan for achieving positive change in the world. If you notice an error in one of our publications or have concerns about the quality of our research, please contact the authors and copy Vice President for Science and Research Janet Ranganathan.

All of our publications are available to download. You may obtain hard copies of select WRI reports at no charge (except shipping and handling) through our print publications catalog.

A Caring for Climate Report

This guide provides practical insights on why and how companies can provide constructive influences on climate policy. It is the output of a review and consultation on responsible corporate engagement, undertaken by the UN Global Compact in cooperation with UNEP, UNFCCC, WRI, UNGC, CDP, WWF,...

Climate Change, Complex Crises and Household Resilience

Complex crises produce impacts that cascade across space and time in unpredictable ways, and create severe hardship among vulnerable groups in developing countries. This paper uses the food crisis of 2008 as a basis for...

Lessons from the Fast-Start Finance Period

Developed countries report that they mobilised $35 billion in international climate finance for developing countries through the “fast-start finance” period from 2010 through 2012. This study examines the reported contribution in detail, revealing lessons for mobilising and targeting climate...

In November 2013, Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will meet in Warsaw, Poland to continue negotiations on the new international 2015 climate change agreement. A critical component of this new agreement will be the design of national mitigation...

Accountability, Transparency, and Accessibility at the Local Level

Adaptation is local but reaching the local level is not always easy. This paper explores the challenges of reaching the most vulnerable people with adaptation finance. It identifies opportunities for improvement and proposes a framework to assess delivery of adaptation finance focusing on...

Equity is a central piece of the new, international climate agreement that will be decided under the UNFCCC in 2015. This paper looks at various trade, human rights, and environmental regimes--such as the Montreal Protocol--to see how they address equity, drawing out the lessons that the UNFCCC...

The UNFCCC Parties need to put forward emission reduction offers as part of the 2015 climate change agreement that is currently being negotiated. This paper suggests options for the design of this process, including the content of the offers and how they will be reviewed. Ensuring that this...

President Obama announced the first-ever National Climate Plan for the United States in June 2013. Under the plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will set carbon pollution standards for power plants. In September 2013, EPA introduced emissions standards for new power plants and...

Equity and Justice Informing a New Climate Agreement

This paper explores the links between climate change and justice. It establishes why climate change is an issue of justice, analyzes the potential role of justice in the agreement currently being negotiated for 2015, and explores climate justice narratives. This paper is written for climate...

President Obama announced a national climate plan in June 2013, directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set carbon pollution standards for the power sector. Once EPA establishes those standards, states will implement their own plans for achieving those reductions.

President Obama announced a national climate plan in June 2013, directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set carbon pollution standards for the power sector. Once EPA establishes those standards, states will implement their own plans for achieving those reductions.

Norway is one of the largest contributors to climate finance in the world, relative to the size of its economy. In 2010 and 2011, the majority of Norway’s fast-start finance (FSF) was channeled through multilateral institutions and supported mitigation activities in developing countries, with a...

An Overview of the Current Policy Landscape

This report provides an overview of major policies in Australia that are likely to make a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The paper discusses a carbon-pricing mechanism, renewable energy target, and other existing and emerging policies, as well as the implications of the...

President Obama announced a national climate plan in June 2013, directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set carbon pollution standards for the power sector. Once EPA establishes those standards, states will implement their own plans for achieving those reductions.

The Case of Midwest Pulp and Paper Mills

This report highlights the critical role of energy efficiency in improving the economic and environmental performance of Midwest pulp and paper mills. WRI’s analysis finds that less efficient facilities could realize significant annual energy cost savings, and decrease their greenhouse gas...

Testimony of James Bradbury

Research by the World Resources Institute has found that cuts in upstream
methane leakage from natural gas systems are among the most important steps the U.S. can take
toward meeting our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals by 2020 and beyond.

Tools and Initiatives to Track Our Progress

WRI and the ClimateWorks Foundation convened climate policy experts for a Practitioners' Workshop on Climate Policy Tracking in October 2012. Informed by the workshop, this working paper presents a landscape assessment of independent efforts to track the adoption, implementation, and impact...